20 September 2014 • 154!

Membership of the 2nd District Chapter. I wish to express my gratitude to all the Brothers of LEAD for contributing to the success of the recently held online election for the Capitulants of the 2nd District Chapter. This election serves as another milestone in our development as a restructured District as all electors voted for the first time for all twenty - two (22) Capitulants. Special thanks to the District Elections Committee, Br. Patrick Tierney (Chair), Br. Tom Lavin, and Br. Richie Yap for facilitating the electoral process. !The following are the members of the 2nd District Chapter: !Ex - Officio Capitulants!Br. Edmundo Fernandez Visitor Br. Thomas Lavin Auxiliary Visitor Br. Anthony Rogers Malaysia Br. Jose Antonio del Coss Bursar / Councillor Br. Lawrence Goh Myanmar Br. Raymundo Suplido Councillor Br. Jose Mari Jimenez Philippines Br. Patrick Tierney Hong Kong Br. Paul Ho Singapore Br. Rodrigo Treviño Japan Br. Stephen Kan Wongchiree Thailand !Elected Capitulants!Br. Anselm Ling John Myanmar Br. Michael Broughton Philippines Br. Armin Luistro Philippines Br. Nicholas Seet Singapore Br. Augustine Boquer Philippines Br. Noel Hrang Lal Myanmar Br. Dennis Magbanua Philippines Br. Peter Foo Malaysia Br. Domingo Villamil Japan Br. Rey Mejias Philippines Br. Egbertus Joikul Malaysia Br. Richie Yap Hong Kong Br. Felipe Belleza Philippines Br. Simon Phanom Wittayanukorn Thailand Br. John D’Cruz Malaysia Br. Stephen Pitchit Wedcharak Thailand Br. Joseph Klong Chaiphuak Thailand Br. Steve Hogan Hong Kong Br. Joseph Than Htaik Aung Myanmar Br. Victor Franco Philippines Br. Kenneth Martinez Philippines Br. Vincent Fernandez Philippines

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Assemblies. Prior to our District Assembly, the 1st LEAD Mission Assembly will be convened in Manila, Philippines on 29 - 30 November 2014. This will be attended by the District Council and about two (2) Lay Partners from each Sector of LEAD. The outcome of this Mission Assembly shall feed into the discussions and discernment of the 2nd District Assembly and Chapter. LEAD Director for Mission, Br. Steve Hogan, is organising this assembly along with Dr. Carmelita Quebengco AFSC (Philippines), Mr. Francis Loh Kok Wah (Malaysia), Mr. Dominic Ang (Singapore), and Br. Richie Yap. !To date, 130 Brothers have confirmed their attendance to the 2nd District Assembly on 3 - 5 December and the 2nd District Chapter (Part 1) on 6 December 2014. This will be our largest gathering as a District. The Planning Committee wishes to remind everyone to complete their online registration form by 30 September. I enjoin all Brothers of LEAD to participate in the upcoming pre - Assembly activities: Online District Evaluation (October) and Online Sondage for the Brother Visitor (November). Part 2 of the 2nd District Chapter, which will be attended by the Capitulants only, will be held on 8 - 10 May 2015 in Hong Kong, with 7 and 11 December as travel dates. !Ground Breaking Ceremony for Typhoon Haiyan Devastated Classrooms. “Students and teachers of Trinidad Elementary School in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, San Miguel Elementary School in Dulag, Leyte and Mercyville Elementary School in Tacloban City were all smiles last August 25 and 26, 2014 for the Classroom Ground Breaking Ceremony as part of the One La Salle Yolanda (Haiyan) Rehabilitation and Recovery Project of De La Salle Philippines, in partnership with De La Salle Santiago Zobel, De La Salle University – Dasmariñas and De La Salle – Lipa. Br. Jose Mari Jimenez FSC, President of De La Salle Philippines and Br. Kenneth Martinez, President of De La Salle - Lipa were in attendance along with different representatives from the barangay, Municipality, Department of Education and partner Non–Government Organizations. !“For all three elementary schools, highlights of the program started as the school principals welcomed guests and students. Ms. Teodora Cabos of Trinidad Elementary School, Ms. Maria Abrenio of San Miguel Elementary School and Ms. Teresita Macabenta of Mercyville Elementary School all expressed their gratitude to everyone who came to witness the event. Br. JJ Jimenez gave an introduction and explained the details of the project. He expressed how Lasallians were looking for different avenues aside from providing immediate relief, to help our fellowmen who

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were affected by Typhoon Yolanda (International Name: Haiyan). Since La Salle’s advocacy is to provide education for the unprivileged, through building new classrooms in public schools that were devastated by the typhoon, this project is a great way to live up to that mission. !“Further, Architect Jude Tecson, the design and construction consultant explained the features and building details of the project. For Trinidad Elementary School and Mercyville Elementary School, the project commits to establish a two - storey

building with four classrooms and a roof deck that can be used as a multi -purpose hall for different school activities. For San Miguel School Elementary School, a single – storey structure with three classrooms will be constructed. All classrooms are disaster resilient which can withstand winds of 300 kph. These can be used as evacuation centers during disasters. The program then proceeded to the turning of soil where honoured guests placed significant objects inside the time capsule. Contents of the time capsule were: a blueprint of the project, a newspaper issued that day, a Lasallian Rosary, some pictures of St. John Baptist de La Salle and some coins for luck and fortune. (De La Salle Philippines Central House Bulletin 0914) !In the News. The following are excerpts from two articles recently featured in the Malaysia Star Online: Book details Brother Vincent’s enriching and challenging experiences. “Joining the La Sallian Brothers was one of the best decisions made by SMK St Michael Ipoh Brother Director Datuk Brother Vincent J. Corkery. Brother Vincent, 85, said there were no regrets as he had enriching and challenging experiences throughout his life since setting foot in Malaya in 1948. !“‘My roots were very deep in Irish culture. But on an impulse, I left my beloved Ireland and travelled some 10,000 miles to Singapore and later to Ipoh,’ he said in his speech during the launch of his autobiography Life Ever Dawning by the school’s board of governors chairman Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian

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at the school hall recently. The book, printed by the Perak Academy, details Brother Vincent’s journey from Ireland to Ipoh. !“‘For almost 57 years that I have been in Ipoh, I have watched the city change remarkably and beautifully and have met thousands of students and teachers here,’ he added. Brother Vincent also paid tribute to the late Brother Ultan Paul Rosario, whom he had worked together with at the school and cherished their friendship. !“‘I have been very close to Brother Paul for about 40 years. He likes to focus on people while I prefer to get things done,’ he said. ‘I am now working with a lot of volunteers to develop education programmes to help children,’ he added. In his opening speech, Lee said the book was a tribute to Brother Vincent for his contribution towards education in the country.” (Ivan Loh, READ MORE at http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Community/2014/09/02/A-pillar-of-society-Book-details-Brother-Vincents-enriching-and-challenging-experiences/ ) !

‘Weed out extremism from young’. “KOTA KINABALU: The right culture inculcated in schools will go a long way in preventing extremism from taking root among the young, says renowned educationist Datuk Brother Charles O’Leary. Stressing that hate and extremism were interrelated, Bro Charles, as he is fondly referred to said: “We must teach the young how to love, how to respect each other, how to respect nature, how to respect our environment. !“The former principal of the La Salle secondary school here who served between 1969 and 1986 said educational institutions must do more to instil moderation into the nation’s mainstream. He said as teachers had a vital and influential role, they should deepen their awareness about the values they should teach. ‘If we pour out hate, revenge, murder, then, of course, there will be no peace. This is the great responsibility for our leaders, parents and teachers,’ he said Bro Charles, who is the last surviving member of the pioneer group of La Salle Brothers who came to Borneo in the 1950s, said any teacher who does not impart these values should not be a teacher in the school. Many of his former students have gone on to

become leaders in politics, government and business. Among them are Sabah’s former Yang Di-Pertua Negri Tun Ahmad Shah Abdullah and former Chief Ministers Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan and Tan Sri Bernard Dompok. !“He had also taught Sarawak’s ex-Chief Minister Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, who is now head of state, when he was posted to St Joseph’s school in Kuching for seven years before coming to Sabah in the 1960s. Quoting the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, Bro Charles said: ‘People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.’ !“Pointing out that there were extremists in most religions, Bro Charles said it was sad that they used God and religion for their own ends. ‘They don’t respect other people’s beliefs and religions. They take their scriptures literally or wrongly interpret them,” he said, adding that there should be mutual respect for moderation to take root. ‘Leaders are preaching unity but no one seems to be paying heed. We need to practise moderation. The concept of 1Malaysia means nothing if we don’t do that,” Bro Charles said. He said the 1Malaysia concept was a wonderful idea but people needed to sit down as a community to reflect and have dialogues. ‘The trouble is that many extremists do not want dialogues. They only want their version and they don’t want to open their minds.’” (Ruben Sario, http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/08/26/Weed-out-extremism-from-young-Instil-moderation-into-the-nations-mainstream-says-former-La-Salle-pr/ )

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Alternative Education Commission Assembly. “The Joint Councils’ Workshop (Presidents’ Circle, Lasallian Partners’ Council, National Mission Council and Sector Council) of 18 November 2013 created De La Salle Philippines’ newest sub-network of La Salle schools – the Alternative Education Commission (AEC). This network involves teacher education, social action, and other units that are engaged in various forms of alternative education services. The aim is to magnify and extend the reach of the Lasallian family to marginalised communities. It is particularly geared to underscore engagements with out-of-school youth and indigenous peoples. !“Chaired by Br. Vince Fernandez FSC, the AEC is composed of the heads of Lasallian Colleges of Education, Alternative Learning System (ALS) program heads, and related alternative education service units (e.g., unit heads for ALS programs, heads of adult and non-formal education units/night schools). The AEC is the third DLSP commission to be set up and it works in consonance with the Basic Education Commission (BEC) and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), under the coordination of the Lasallian Education Commission (LEC) of De La Salle Philippines. !“Like the BEC and TEC, the AEC can help provide broad policy guidance and exercise advisory function to DLSP. As a network, it serves as a clearinghouse and coordinating hub for various related services regarding alternative education.” (De La Salle Philippines Central House Bulletin 0914) !

8th International Lasallian Days of Peace. I am attaching a message from Brother Superior General and the International Council of Young Lasallians on the upcoming 8th International Lasallian Days of Peace. I would like to encourage everyone’s participation in this global effort for peace. For more information and to download posters, go to www.lasalle.org

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Plenary Meeting of the General Council. The Superior General and the Council met for the first time last September 1. The first week focused on the following: a) getting to know each other, b) taking time to understand the different Regions and the Institute as a whole, c) and taking stock of our values and priorities . The second week was an opportunity to discern how God is calling us today and what our work will look like in the next 7 years. This week we have a) studied some mega-trends that are happening around the world, b) reviewed the Acts of the 45th General Chapter , and c) proposed possible themes and sub-themes for the next 7 years. Next week, we hope to a) review the revised Rule, b) develop a plan of action for the next 7 years and c) determine a system to monitor performance and establish a list of indicators of success in different areas related to the Acts of the 45th General Chapter. !Secretariats and Services. The different secretariats and services at the Center of the Institute are also going through an evaluation and planning process similar to what the General Council is doing. A feedback mechanism has been set up for the Superior General and the Council to get information on a regular basis. This will be a learning process for everyone and we hope to to improve on whatever we wish to do in the next 7 years. !ANZPPNG. Br. David Hawke is the new Visitor for ANZPPNG. He no longer uses parcdls@singnet.com.sg. You may contact him through his primary email: davidhawke@delasalle.org.au or his alternative email: dhawke@lasalle.org !

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Assemblies and Chapters. For your information: !2014 2015 November 23 - 24 Pre - Chapter Assembly of Sri Lanka January 14 - 16 Chapter of India December 3 - 6 Assembly and Chapter of LEAD Part I January 23 - 27 Chapter of ANZPPNG December 27 - 28 Pre - Chapter Assembly of India May 8 - 10 Chapter of LEAD Part II !!Birthday. Br. Allan Buenavista, who is in Iligan, Philippines, will be celebrating his birthday this 24 September. Let us remember him in our prayers. !!Fraternally, !!Br. Edmundo L. Fernandez FSC!Hong Kong

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